The Lakes Region

The lakes region of Kenya provides one of the greatest bird spectacles in the world. The Great Rift Valley extends over a full 5632 kilometres from the Eritrean shores of the Red Sea to the Zambezi Valley in Mozambique. In Kenya, it is as wide as 80 kilometres across, with escarpment walls rising up to 100 meters and offering spectacular views.

A chain of seven shallow lakes is scattered along the floor of the Rift Valley. Of these, Lake Naivasha is the highest and purest freshwater lake in the Rift Valley and as it is only 90 minutes’ drive from Nairobi, it makes a great first stop for visitors to Kenya and is an ornithologist’s delight with masses of water-associated birds including Africa’s densest fish eagle population.

Other than Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru offers one of the greatest bird spectacles in the world, when at certain times of the year, around two million lesser flamingos grace the lake shores with their beautiful pink plumage. This fenced sanctuary has also become a successful breeding ground of both the white and black rhino, which are easily spotted on the lake shore.